Away Test failures puncture Dhoni's leadership aura

Dhoni has enjoyed a fairytale rise

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's one-match ban means the India captain will have time for an introspective look as to where and when his Midas touch deserted him as his team mates battle to avoid a series whitewash against Australia in Adelaide.

Dhoni, who will miss next week's fourth Test after the ICC banned him because of India's slow over rate in the third Test defeat in Perth on Sunday, has enjoyed a fairytale rise from the cricketing backwaters of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

In what seemed like a storyline straight out of a Bollywood script, he led teams to Twenty20 (2007) and 50-over (2011) World Cup victories and oversaw their rise as the number one Test team in the world, thus convincing many he was India's best captain ever.

His unflappable leadership, as much as his tactical brilliance and uncomplicated approach, impressed most, including a management institute in his home town Ranchi which wanted to do a brain-mapping of the Indian captain.

"I'm surprised, a spinner could have exercised some control here," former captain Ravi Shastri rued on air as the Indian pacers strayed their line and got hammered by Australian opener David Warner on the first day.

In a way, Dhoni met his comeuppance and incurred a one-match ban after India were found two overs short of target. It may not have been the case had one of his frontline bowlers been a spinner.

He could not get the best out of his pacers either.

Much of Ishant Sharma's reputation is built around his excellent spell against former Australia captain Ricky Ponting in the 2008 Perth Test but this time around Dhoni held him back, preferring Vinay Kumar's military medium pace instead.

'I'm the leader of the side, the main culprit'

While the entire blame cannot be placed at his feet, Dhoni knows he deserves the lion's share and had the candour to admit it.

"I need to blame myself. I'm the leader of the side, the main culprit," he said.

While vice-captain Virender Sehwag takes over the captaincy temporarily for the Adelaide Test, a lack of suitable alternatives mean India need Dhoni to come back firing for the three-Test series in Sri Lanka in six months time.